The Black Swan Effect, edited by Felicty Dale – Available Now

April 5, 2014

While for some churches, fully appreciating women in ministry has been in place for a while, there are a number of churches thoughtful working through the issue today. In fact, I just got an email from a friend whose mega-church is near the final stages of removing any restrictions on women in leadership at the church they serve. The leadership has unanimously came to this conclusion, they are simply waiting for approval from the entire membership. They are a true model in communal discernment.

There are other churches that have yet to think about this issue thoughtfully enough. Just a couple of weeks ago, I had dinner with William Webb, author of Slaves, Women & Homosexuals: Exploring the Hermeneutics of Cultural Analysis, and it was encouraging to hear from him about how God is continuing to use his book with people of influence, who currently hold a hermeneutic that disqualify women from certain roles. You might be surprised by the people currently thinking deeply about this topic.

This is why I am thankful that Felicity Dale has taken the time to pull together a book where Peggy Batcheller-Hijar, Neil Cole, Jan Diss, Katie Drive, Dave Ferguson, Michael Frost, Alan Hirsch, Suzette Lambert, Floyd McLung, Julie Ross, Frank Viola and Jon Zens each take a chapter to make a positive case for the full inclusion of women in ministry. Lynne Hybels wrote the forward.

“God had to give Peter three visions before he got the clue that He fully welcomes Gentiles. Christ has given the church men and women apostles, prophets, evangelist, pastors and teachers. Each chapter in this book is a vision, so don’t be surprised if God gives you a kairos moment (divine moments that shape our destiny), where you start to appreciate and value women in the same way He does. Let the black swan revolution begin!”